A Modern Mission

Modern Family actor Nolan Gould works with the Sierra Club to help the environment and to try to get kids to spend time outside

Nov 02, 2012 | By Andrea Delbanco

COURTESY NOLAN GOULD

Nolan takes in the grand view at Grand Canyon National Park, in Arizona.

At age 13, Nolan Gould is a high school graduate and a star of an Emmy Award-winning TV show. So he's spent a ton of time doing schoolwork and acting on the set of Modern Family. But when he gets a chance, he goes outdoors. "I take every opportunity when I am not working to go camping or hiking, or just get outside," Nolan told TFK.

This summer, Nolan got involved with the Sierra Club, an environmental group. Its Mission Outdoors program follows the same principle as the Sierra Club itself: People who spend time outdoors will want to protect our planet. It worked with Nolan. He spent a week on vacation with his family at Grand Canyon National Park, in Arizona. Between mountain biking, kayaking and riding mules, he fell in love with the spot.

A Call to Action

Nolan was surprised to learn that the region is at risk. "The Grand Canyon and the surrounding lands are in danger from threats like uranium mining, coal pollution and logging," Nolan says. "We can't let them be destroyed."

So what is this modern man's plan of action? "We are asking the President to permanently protect this natural area," says Nolan. If the President names the area a national monument, it will be safe from many of these environmental threats. "You can write the President a letter, or you can go to sierraclub.org/grand-canyon-watershed to send him a message online," Nolan says.